Red Hands
by Jonouchi Katsuya
Summary: It is all Mahaad's fault.


Jonouchi had been suffering recurring dreams. They made him toss and turn in the late hours of the night, and plagued his thoughts during the day. He didn't know why he was being subjected to illusions of brass wind chimes and hot deserts, and enormous African palaces. Perhaps he had yet to move on from the Egypt-related misadventures he'd been involved with before Atem passed on. He didn't know. He simply wished that the dream would stop coming back, that his subconscious would stop fucking with him, and he could have his sleep and thoughts free of the trouble for at least a little while.

Such was not the case. As he slowly drifted out of consciousness this night, he already saw visions of it, smells and sounds from it returning to him once again; his body felt increasingly lighter until it seemed to be almost just...gone. Just like before.

….

"You are a pathetic excuse for a Priest, Mahaad. You manage to falter in every possible scenario."

I looked down, not wanting to say anything. I didn't understand why. Normally, I would have popped anyone. I had no control over my body, and no matter how hard I tried to move or say something, I simply continued to play the submissive.

"Aren't you going to say anything for yourself?" The other man looked down at me. I could hear the smirk in his voice, and it made rage rise in my chest; I could feel my fists clenching at my sides, so evidently whoever it was whose body I was in felt the same as I did.

"I do not answer to you, Set."

The 't' was accentuated with a certain level of venom, like it was a challenge. 'Mahaad' was not stating a fact-he was trying to throw off the dominance of his opponent.

Suddenly, I exited the body in which I'd been trapped, and I looked down on what was myself. At least, I thought it was myself. Mahaad glared at Set in angry defiance.

Yugi was hunched over, crying out in pain. I looked at my hands; they were covered in blood. I returned my gaze to Set who seemed so clean as to be pristine next to 'me'. He unexpectedly closed the distance between us, and roughly grabbed hold of my chin. His free hand was around the wrist of mine that had risen to push him away.

"It's all your fault, Mahaad. If you were a better _duelist, _this wouldn't have happened. Pharaoh should have _fired your clueless ass_ when he had the chance. You should have stepped down and realized you weren't good enough! I hope you're pleased, because no one else is."

He leaned in so close to Mahaad that he shied away from the breath on his face, eyes shut. I saw the rage in Set's face; he was truly angry now, no longer disguising it with snark and snide remarks. He let his lips hover close to Mahaad's ear.

"Perhaps your pride will keep you warm tonight," he hissed, and I could hear his voice as if he was speaking beside my own ear, "Because I certainly will not."

After that, he shoved Mahaad away, making him stumble a couple of paces. Mahaad looked stunned, abandoned...confused. I felt his pain in my own chest.

"You are responsible for Pharaoh's death, Mahaad!" Came the voice of Set, though I couldn't see him anymore.

The Pharaoh? My eyes shot down at Yugi who was on the ground and cold; blood was pooled around him, staining blue to a dark red-magenta color, and in some places a near brown where his lifeblood had dried and hardened. Yugi, in his school uniform. So lifeless. The clothes looked so faded and far away. There was so much blood.

Tears blurred my vision. It was all my fault.

.

Jonouchi woke up violently, covered in a cold sweat. He felt like his heart was going to burst from his chest, with how hard it was thumping. He pulled his knees to his chest and ran his fingers through his hair as he panted for breath. That was how he normally woke from the dream, but this time was different. This time the trauma lasted beyond the dream, leaving him with a strange sensation of fear and urgency. This time he felt as cold as if it had really been Yugi and that he had just seen his best friend in a pool of his own blood. It didn't feel like his subconscious trying to scare him. Not this time. This time it felt like a warning.

**A/N: Obviously another multi-chap idea came knocking on my door only this time I really didn't have time to write everything I wanted. So you are just going to have to wait for chapter two to know where I was going with this. **

**This is my contest entry for HeaddressShipping. **


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